In Your Arms
by my own patronus
Summary: Blaine Anderson lives with his older brother, Cooper, a chef at Breadstix. After transferring from his old high school to McKinley, he joins the New Directions and meets Kurt Hummel. But when things go sour, how will Blaine and Cooper cope? Blangst Prompt of the Day fill for #362.
1. Chapter 1

Alrighty, here's another Blangst Prompt of the Day Fill, #362  
_Prompt: Blaine and Cooper don't live with their parents (for whatever reason) and the two brothers live in a small apartment (Blaine never went to dalton). However when Cooper suddenly looses his job, they have to live in Coopers car. Blaine doesn't tell Kurt this. However its winter and Blaine ends up getting really sick. One night, a very upset and nervous Cooper has to end up driving a very sick and unconscious Blaine to the Hummels house b/c they cant afford a hospital and he knows Carol is a nurse._

The first two chapters are just a bit of set up on Blaine and Cooper's background. This is set in S2/S3 of Glee, but it's pretty AU. I do try to keep it as canon compliant as possible, though.

Enjoy lovelies!

* * *

Blaine limped into McKinley high school on his first day. It probably wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't the middle of the year. And if he wasn't covered in bruises and casts. But he knew that he had to keep up with school or else he'd have to repeat sophomore year, and that would be awful. McKinley would hopefully be better than his last school.

Cooper had to work, so Blaine was on his own as he made his way to the main office to register for classes.

"Mr. Anderson?" the secretary asked when she saw him enter the room.

He nodded.

"Principal Figgins will see you now."

Blaine followed her gaze to the main office where an Indian man sat behind a large wooden desk. The man was currently listening to music on an iPod and dancing in his seat. Blaine tried his hardest not to laugh at the man.

"Hello?" he said loudly upon entering the room, alerting the Principal to his presence.

"Ah, yes," the man said, looking up as if he hadn't been dancing seconds earlier. "Mr. Anderson, I presume?"

"Yeah, I just need to sign a few forms before I can start class, right?" Blaine asked, sitting down. He was hoping to hurry the meeting along so he wouldn't stand out even more.

"Where is your parent or guardian, Mr. Anderson? You cannot register for classes without an adult present."

"Oh, well, my brother had to work this morning," Blaine said quietly.

"What about your parents?"

"They're, um, they're dead," Blaine muttered. "But my brother's my guardian, and he signed this for you to, um, say that he was okay with me registering and stuff," Blaine said as he held a piece of paper out to Mr. Figgins. "And my old school should have forwarded on all my paperwork, so I don't see why that isn't enough."

Figgins looked down for a few minutes and shuffled through Blaine's papers.

"You left your last school after getting into a fight?" Figgins asked slowly, raising his eyebrows at Blaine.

"No! I mean, that's what the school reported it as, but only because those guys were the football stars and they can't afford to expel them! They beat me and my friend up. I think it's pretty obvious that I didn't do any fighting back," Blaine said, indicating his plaster-coated arm.

"Alright, but I will be keeping an eye on you. Everything else seems in order. Just make sure that your brother comes in at some point to update the signatures on the forms."

Blaine sighed in relief.

"Here is your class schedule. It is the middle of first block right now, so you should hurry to make sure you don't miss too much."

Blaine grabbed it from Figgins' outstretched hand and left the office as quickly as his aching knee would allow.

* * *

His first period class was Spanish, taught by an enthusiastic man – who was tragically misinformed about the entire Spanish language. Thankfully, the man didn't call him out when he limped into the room. He did ask to talk to Blaine after class, but asked no more than, "Have you taken Spanish before? Great. Welcome to McKinley."

The rest of the day was spent in relative anonymity. At the end of Blaine's first week at school, no one had said more than a few words to him.

On Friday, Blaine's history class was dismissed early so they could all attend an alcohol awareness assembly. He rolled his eyes as he slid into a seat between two of his large, sweaty classmates and prepared to be bored to death by speakers proclaiming the dangers of drinking for teenagers. However, he was pleasantly surprised when Mr. Figgins announced that the show choir was going to be performing.

Blaine didn't even know that McKinley had a show choir. He had been in the choir and theatre programs at his old school, and was disappointed to learn that McKinley had none of that. Apparently, his information hadn't been totally correct.

He slid to the edge of his seat as the curtains opened. A large group of make-up and sparkle covered, scantily-clad teenagers. Their performance might have been a bit risque, but there was no denying their talent. The performance was marred by the lurid purple vomit, but Blaine's interest was still piqued.

* * *

"So squirt, how was your first week at McKinley?" Cooper asked Blaine. They were sitting down to a late dinner consisting of leftovers from the restaurant that Cooper worked at. He used to complain about hating to eat the same food that he had been cooking for hours, but since Blaine's hospital bills had caused money to become really tight, he'd kept tight lips.

"Alright, I guess. I think I'm going to audition for their show choir."

"Show choir? Like singing and dancing and wearing boas?" Cooper asked with a grin on his face.

"I don't know. They sang Ke$ha at an assembly this week, so it's not all terrible. Plus, I _like _singing and dancing."

"I'm just teasing you, squirt. I think it's great."

"The principal wants you to stop by at some point to update the information on my forms," Blaine suddenly remembered. "Maybe you could come by on Monday after my audition. You have the day off, don't you? We could celebrate."

"I think that sounds perfect. We could even eat something other than Breadstix."

"Hey, I love your food, Coop."

"I do, too. I'm a fantastic chef. But I am so tired of that stuff."

Both boys laughed before turning in.

* * *

After school on Monday, Blaine limped over to the choir room. He was nervous for the audition, and his haste made his knee ache even more. He was mentally kicking himself for refusing to wear the knee brace the doctors had given him.

He knocked on the door at exactly three o'clock and walked in. There was a group of a dozen kids and Blaine's Spanish teacher crowded into the room. A short brunette girl seemed to be bossing everyone around, and it took the group a few moments to notice Blaine.

"Blaine, right?" Mr. Schuester asked. "Can we help you?"

Blaine held tight to his backpack strap. "Um, I was wondering if you were accepting new members?""

There was a long pause.

"You _want _to join the New Directions?" a Latina girl asked.

Blaine nodded.

"You do know that it's automatic social suicide, right?" she added.

"Santana," the brunette hissed, "we can always use new members, don't try to talk him out of it!"

"Well, Blaine," Mr. Schuester said, clapping his hands and speaking over the two girls, "we would love to have you join us. Do you have anything prepared to audition with?"

"Right now?" Blaine asked, voice slightly choked.

"No time like the present!"

Blaine wracked his brains for a song he knew well enough before finally settling on a particular one and grinning indulgently. "Sure," he said with a grin.

"Great. Everybody, let's give Blaine the floor!"

Blaine carefully set down his bag and walked over to the band to tell them his song selection. He went back to the middle of the room and stood before the club, hands sweating nervously.

As the music began, Blaine's nerves disappeared and he began to sing.

"_You think I'm pretty without any makeup on..."_

When the song finished, the room erupted in applause. Blaine bashfully looked up at the other students as they cheered for him.

"Welcome to the New Directions!" Mr. Schuester said.

Blaine spent the rest of the meeting sitting in the back of the room and listening as the others discussed their plans for regionals and (hopefully) nationals in New York.

When rehearsal ended, Blaine gathered up his bag and prepared to leave when a soft hand stopped him. He turned around and was greeted by a most breathtaking sight.

"Hi, I'm Kurt Hummel," the boy said.

"B-blaine Anderson," Blaine said, taking Kurt's outstretched hand.

"Did you just transfer here?" Kurt asked, walking with Blaine to the door.

"Last week," Blaine affirmed. "I saw you guys at the assembly. Other than the vomit, you were amazing."

Kurt looked a little surprised. "Well, I'm pleased to know that one of our performances finally convinced someone in this school to join us. It was nice to meet you, Blaine."

With that, Kurt walked away.

Blaine walked instead towards the front office and met up with Cooper just as he was leaving.

"So, are you in?" Cooper asked as soon as he saw Blaine.

"Yup," Blaine said, grin spreading across his face.

"That's awesome, B! Now we definitely need to celebrate!"

They went out to dinner and had a celebratory cheesecake to end the meal.

* * *

Blaine quickly learned that joining McKinley's glee club was probably a bad idea, but he couldn't find too much to complain about. Sure, the slushies and locker checks were annoying, but the other members of the club were always there to help him. The abuse at McKinley was nothing compared to that at his old school. Plus, he hadn't been this happy in a long time.

* * *

"So, why'd you transfer to McKinley?" Kurt asked Blaine at lunch one day.

All of the New Directions were crowded around a table in the courtyard despite the chill of the March afternoon. Blaine could feel several pairs of eyes flit to look at him as they all waited for his response.

"I, uh, had some trouble at my old school, and my brother and I decided that I'd be saf- _happier –_ if I transferred," Blaine said.

"What kind of trouble?" Puck asked. "No offense, Anderson, but you don't really strike me as the badass type."

"Some kids there – beat the living crap out of me," Blaine said quietly. "That's why I looked like crap when I first came here."

"Shit," Puck muttered under his breath. "Sorry, bro."

"No, it's – I was used to it. It just got a little out of hand at the dan – one time, so Cooper and I decided it'd be best if I didn't go back."

"Why?" Rachel asked.

"Wh-what?" Blaine stuttered.

Kurt smacked Rachel lightly on the shoulder. "Rachel, can't you see how uncomfortable he is? Blaine, you don't have to explain yourself to us."

"No, it's fine," Blaine assured his friends. "You guys'll find out eventually, I guess. It was because I'm – I'm gay," he whispered to the table. When there was no response, Blaine continued. "I went to a dance with my friend – the only other gay kid at school. These three guys cornered us when we were waiting for his dad to pick us up. I was in the hospital for a couple of weeks and then recuperating at home until Coop got everything settled for me to come here."

"They did that to you because you're _gay_?" Puck growled.

Blaine looked up, terrified of Puck's tone. Had he misinterpreted his new friends' accepting attitudes?

"Stop it, Puck, you're scaring him," Kurt hissed. The taller boy rested a gentle hand on Blaine's leg. "Don't worry, he's a big softie. They all formed an honor guard around me when the bullies got particularly bad earlier this year."

Blaine blinked in confusion at Kurt.

"There was a kid here who made it his mission to make my life miserable for the same reason. Thankfully it never escalated beyond locker shoves before he was expelled, but it was still pretty terrifying."

Blaine's eyes widened, and Kurt chuckled.

"You know," Kurt began, "I'd've assumed that you'd have a better gaydar. Everyone here knew I was gay without me even having to say a word."

Blaine flushed.

"_Anyway_," Kurt said loudly, trying to ease the tension, "we're glad to have you here."


	2. Chapter 2

HOLY CRAP. GUYS, YOU ARE AMAZING!

Seriously. The number of follows/favorites/reviews/hits I got on the first chapter of this story in **one night **is totally overwhelming!

So as a St. Patrick's Day gift to all my lucky readers (see what I did there?) here's chapter two!

(Just a warning though - I probably won't update this quickly for the rest of the story. There'll be at least two days in between each chapter, but I don't know how long it'll be...)

(Also, who's seen AVPSY? I was lucky enough to watch it live at LeakyCon, but have been waiting to flail about it with all my friends for over six moths. It's _totally awesome_, right?)

* * *

As regionals approached, the New Directions buckled down and began writing songs. Kurt started tutoring Blaine when it became apparent that his month off of school had put him behind in all of his classes, so neither boy had much input in the song writing process. However, Blaine saw this as a positive. He didn't care as much about writing music as he did about growing closer to Kurt.

And Kurt and Blaine were certainly growing closer. They did homework alternatively at Kurt's house and Blaine's apartment. Most of the hours were spent talking, listening to music, and practicing for glee instead of catching up on school work.

Cooper came home many nights to find Kurt and Blaine snuggled together on the couch, watching some TV show or movie. Once Kurt left, he would tease Blaine about it for hours. Blaine tried to brush it off and convince Coop that he and Kurt were just friends, but his deep blush always gave away his crush.

"He likes you too, Squirt. I can tell. Just ask him out already!" became Cooper's nightly mantra.

* * *

Blaine didn't build up the courage to talk to Kurt until right before regionals. They were at Blaine's after school and watching Kurt's copy of _Moulin Rouge_ while singing along (Kurt took Satine's parts and Blaine sung Christian's).

"Hey, Kurt?" Blaine said timidly as the end credits flashed over the screen.

Kurt, who had been sobbing, turned his tear-stained face to Blaine. "Yeah?"

"Do you maybe want to do something sometime? I mean, I know we do stuff all the time, but maybe we could do something different?"

"Do you mean like a date?" Kurt asked. He looked slightly amused.

"Only if you want it to be a date," Blaine said hurriedly.

"I'd love that," Kurt said.

Blaine's head shot up. "Really?"

Kurt giggled. "Of course, Blaine."

They made plans to go to Breadstix after regionals – hopefully to celebrate both a victory at regionals and their budding romance.

* * *

Regionals morning dawned and Blaine was a basket of nerves. Cooper made an artful and gourmet breakfast which Blaine could barely stomach a mouthful of. Blaine looked apologetically at his brother as all the leftovers were loaded into their fridge before they left for the competition.

The New Directions were competing against the Hipsters and the Dalton Academy Warblers. To Blaine's shock, one of Dalton's newest members was none other than Joey Wrightson, his date to the dance. He proudly clapped for his friend, who he had barely kept in contact with since the dance except to exchange words that both were transferring schools.

When the New Directions were announced as winners, Blaine managed to sneak across the stage and found Joey with a group of disappointed Warblers.

"Blaine!" Joey cried, launching himself into Blaine's arms.

Blaine laughed and squeezed his friend tightly.

"You were amazing," both boys gushed at the same time.

Joey introduced Blaine to the curious crowd of Warblers, who all seemed to know exactly who Blaine was. Blaine felt a little guilty for never having told his friends about Joey, but then again, Joey was in a much safer school and therefore didn't have to worry about keeping secrets secret.

"Keep in touch!" Joey called to Blaine when their director whisked them away.

Blaine stared stupidly after them for a few moments before realizing that he had no idea where the rest of his glee club was. He dashed backstage and found them gathered around Mr. Schuester in the green room. Blaine slipped in next to Kurt, earning him a curious glance. No one else seemed to have noticed his absence.

"What was that all about?" Kurt asked Blaine when Mr. Schuester finally let the club pack up and leave the theatre.

"That was Joey. He was my friend at my old school," Blaine explained.

"Your date to the dance?" Kurt asked.

Blaine nodded. "We haven't seen each other since the hospital. He transferred to Dalton and I obviously came here. Cooper tried getting me into Dalton because of their no bullying policy, but even with scholarships and financial aid, it was too much for him to afford."

Kurt nodded but his smile looked a little strained.

"There's Cooper," Blaine said, completely oblivious to Kurt's discomfort. "I'll see you in a couple of hours, Kurt. I'm really looking forward to our date!"

* * *

The date was absolutely perfect. Sure, the waiters and busboys and chefs seemed to check up on Blaine and Kurt a _bit _more than necessary (Blaine had to remember to only have dates at Breadstix on nights when Cooper wasn't working from now on). As Kurt walked Blaine up the stairs to his apartment, Blaine could feel his breath catch in his throat.

"I had a really great time tonight, Kurt," Blaine breathed.

"Me too."

"Do you think – maybe – we could do this again?" Blaine asked haltingly.

Kurt laughed at Blaine's bashfulness. "Yes, Blaine. I definitely think this will become a regular thing."

Blaine looked up at Kurt with such hope and joy in his eyes that Kurt had to physically restrain himself from jumping on the younger boy and attacking him with his lips.

Blaine, however, had no such reservations. He leaned forward slowly and inched up on his toes until he was gently pressing his lips to Kurt's. It was soft and gently and over quickly, but it was perfect.

"Goodnight, Kurt," Blaine said before going inside.

* * *

Kurt was waiting at Blaine's locker with coffee Monday morning. At lunch, the two boys held hands under the table. And they put arms around each other at glee practice. Blaine couldn't deny how good it felt to be so open about physically touching another man.

They were doing homework at Blaine's again. That happened more and more often now, seeing as how Cooper was usually working or else he left them alone, while Finn hovered when they were at the Hummel-Hudson house.

Before even pretending to begin their homework, Kurt looked at Blaine.

"I have a couple of things to ask you," he said.

"This sounds serious," Blaine noted.

"It is. But hopefully it's good-serious."

"Okay, I'm listening. Shoot."

"I know you and Joey went to a dance together. Were you two ..." Kurt trailed off, unable to even finish his sentence.

Blaine apparently caught the gist of what Kurt was trying to say. "Oh, no! Definitely not. No way," Blaine said, looking amused and disgusted at the concept of him and Joey even being more than friends.

"Good. I just had to check," Kurt said. "Otherwise, my next question might have been extremely embarrassing for me. Blaine Anderson, will you be my boyfriend?"

Blaine was shocked. He didn't know how to respond. When he was silent for a few moments, he could see fear crossing Kurt's eyes. Realizing he had to do something, Blaine leaned forward and captured Kurt's lips in another kiss, this one slightly more desperate than the last.

When the two boys broke apart a minute later, a small smile danced across Kurt's lips.

"I'll take that as a yes?" Kurt said.

* * *

When prom rolled around, Kurt and all the New Directions rallied around Blaine to make sure he felt safe at the dance. He and Kurt only danced a few songs together, but the fact that they were there together was enough for both boys.

The boys all formed a ring around Blaine and Kurt as they were walked to Kurt's navigator. Blaine was slightly embarrassed, but was even more humbled by how much his new friends loved him. He hadn't admitted to any of them – not even Kurt – how terrified he was, but they all did everything they could to make sure that he didn't feel scared for one moment of the dance.

* * *

Nationals came and went. They placed 12th, but Blaine couldn't bring himself to care. He got to go to New York for the first time – with his boyfriend. He got to walk down the streets holding Kurt's hand and he got to kiss his boyfriend in the middle of Times Square, and no one batted an eye. It was magical.

* * *

With the start of summer, Blaine began to pick up a few more shifts helping out at Breadstix. He was determined to be able to take Kurt out at least once a week, and he needed money to do that. Kurt was also busy – both from working on _Pip Pip Hooray! _and working at his father's garage with Finn. Despite that, they had plenty of time to spend with their friends and each other.

In the middle of August, everything changed.

Cooper came home from Breadstix early one Thursday night. He barely acknowledged Blaine as he walked in the door, going straight for a bottle of vodka that he rarely drank from. Blaine's eyes widened as he watched his brother gulp down a generous portion of the clear alcohol before rubbing his eyes and sighing deeply.

"Coop?" Blaine asked tentatively. "What's wrong?"

"They fired me."

"What?"

"They fucking fired me, B. The manager just walked back into the kitchen and pulled me to the side and said that they were going a different way with them menu and they didn't need me anymore."

"But, Coop – they _can't _fire you!"

"They can and they did," Cooper said, utterly defeated.

"What are you going to do?"

"I guess I'll have to get another job," Cooper said sadly. "Although nowhere in this damn town seems to be hiring."

"I can get a job, too, and help out with the rent and stuff," Blaine offered.

"No, B, you need to focus on school. Junior year is really important. You need amazing grades so you can get scholarships for college."

"But, Coop -" Blaine protested.

"No, Blaine. I promised mom that I would take care of you. I fully intend to keep that promise."

Blaine nodded, a sob fighting to bubble up from deep within his chest. The two brothers embraced, exchanging comfort through the close contact.


	3. Chapter 3

**a/n: I've always wanted to write homeless!Blaine, so I guess this is my chance...**

**I can't stress enough how humbled I am by the overwhelming response this story has received. I had no idea how people would respond to this, and I wrote it in a rush with little planning - and yet I have received nothing short of an avalanche of support. Thank you to everyone who is reading this!**

**Also, I've kinda shifted around the events of S3, so _WSS _happens way earlier in the year here than it did on the show (it's the last week of September/first week of October).**

* * *

Cooper spent the next two weeks constantly searching for jobs. He submitted his resume in every store and restaurant he could find, but no one was hiring.

Not long after school started up again for Blaine, Cooper was hired temporarily at Pizza Hut. It was only minimum wage, and the manager said they only needed drivers for a short time, but it was a job. But things were still tight at the apartment.

Blaine and Kurt had stopped going on dates as frequently. Sure, both boys were incredibly busy with school and the musical, but Blaine was also asking Kurt out less because he knew that he couldn't pay anymore. When they worked on homework after school, it was always at Kurt's house. Blaine wasn't ashamed of Cooper or their lifestyle. He was incredibly proud, and he knew that his brother had sacrificed a lot for him. But he just didn't want Kurt to know exactly what was happening.

They ate pizza every night – Cooper had an amazing discount and sometimes got free pizzas that were messed up in some way. Blaine was beginning to get sick of the taste, but he refused to complain when his brother was working so hard to make ends meet.

It wasn't enough.

Blaine came home from a _West Side Story _rehearsal one day to find a notice taped to their door, indicating that their rent was overdue. When he walked inside, the light switch wasn't working. Blaine tried every electronic in the house before concluding that their power had been cut. He shivered as he realized how desperate their situation had become.

Blaine was huddled in front of the TV, doing his homework by candlelight, when Cooper came in with a pizza.

"What's up with the candles?" Cooper asked. "I'm not crashing some disgustingly cute date, am I?"

"Power's out," Blaine said.

"What? There were no storms or anything!" Cooper complained.

"I know. It's just us. Coop, have you paid the power bill yet this month?"

Cooper's eyes widened in realization. "Shit, B, I'm so sorry."

"It's fine, Coop. Obviously I made do. There's something else though."

"What?"

Blaine held out the letter from their landlord. He hadn't opened it, but he could guess what it said.

Cooper ripped it open and read it as quickly as he could in the weak light. When he finished, he sank down in the seat next to Blaine, pizza completely forgotten.

"Is it bad?" Blaine asked quietly.

Cooper nodded. "I'll go talk to Mr. Miller tomorrow. Don't worry, B, we'll make this work."

Blaine wanted to believe Cooper.

* * *

Cooper went to the landlord's office soon after Blaine left for school.

"Ah, Mr. Anderson," Alton Miller said, inviting Cooper into the room. "I was expecting you."

Cooper smiled weakly, but his nerves held him back. "Look, Mr. Miller, I know I'm late on the rent payments, but I just lost my job, and no where's hiring, and Blaine's got school -"

"Kid," Mr. Miller cut in sharply, "I get it. Things are tough all over, though. I can't help you out. I have a family to feed, too."

"Please, you've got to help me. I promised my mom I'd take care of Blaine right before she died, and I know it sounds like I'm trying to get sympathy points, but I'm not! I'm just saying that I hate breaking my word and I hate doing this to Blaine. He shouldn't be worrying about bills and rent and stuff! He should be thinking about sneaking out with his boyfriend!"

"I wish I could help you out, I really do, but I can't start making exceptions."

Cooper had known that this would be the end outcome of the meeting. "I can't pay it," he said sadly.

"Can you pay any of it?"

"I've got enough for two weeks," Cooper offered.

"I'll take that. But if you can't get it together soon, I'm going to have to evict you."

"I know. Thanks, Mr. Miller."

* * *

Cooper didn't tell Blaine anything, and Blaine didn't ask. He didn't reference their night spent in the dark or the note he found on the door.

At least, not until there was another notice posted.

It was a month after Cooper's meeting with the landlord. He hadn't been able to scrounge up enough money at Pizza Hut, so he came home from work to find a terrified Blaine sitting on the couch waiting for him.

"Blaine, it's two am. You should be asleep. You have school tomorrow," Cooper said tiredly.

"Coop," Blaine strangled out. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

Blaine held out another envelope. This time, however, there were large, red letters stamped on the front which proclaimed "EVICTION NOTICE" for the whole world to see.

"Blaine..." Cooper breathed quietly.

"Coop, if it was getting this bad, I could have, I don't know, gotten a job to help out or something!"

"Blaine, I told you, your education is way too important."

"Really? More important than us having a place to _live_? What are we going to do now, Cooper?"

"I – uh – I don't know, Blaine. Maybe you could ask to stay with a friend. Maybe Kurt and Finn's parents would let you stay with them for a while?"

"No! I'm not leaving you, Coop! Mom wanted us to stay together and take care of each other, remember?"

Both brothers were crying by this point. Cooper walked over to Blaine and took him in his arms, squeezing tightly. They stayed up, crying, until the morning light began to peek through the window. The brothers fell asleep, tangled within each other, on the couch.

When Blaine woke up it was after 10 am.

"Coop!" Blaine shouted, rolling off the couch. "I'm late for school! Come on, you've got to drive me!"

"No, B, you're not going today," Cooper muttered sleepily as he turned on his side.

"What do you mean?"

"We were up until the crack of dawn. You need your sleep. Anyway, we need to pack up and figure stuff out."

That sobered Blaine up. While Cooper went back to sleep for a little longer, Blaine began packing bags with clothes and books and things he knew he'd need. He was surprised at how little there was. Blaine could hear Cooper messing around in the kitchen after a while, but tried to drown out all thoughts.

About an hour later, Blaine could smell something sweet wafting from the kitchen area. He stood up and made his way into the kitchen.

Cooper had packed up most of his appliances and dishes, but had still managed to make an absolutely heavenly french toast delicacy for breakfast. They ate in silence before Cooper began to talk.

"Before we move out, I'm going to try to sell this stuff. A lot of it is pretty high end – from the kitchen back home. We might be able to make enough off of it for another month's rent."

The couldn't. Cooper put an ad online, but was only able to sell the whole lot for $200.

Blaine and Cooper loaded their bags into Cooper's station wagon a few days later.

"What about the rest of your stuff?" Blaine asked. He and Cooper had each loaded a few bags and boxes into the car, but there was still plenty of stuff in the apartment.

"We've got all the important stuff, right?" Cooper asked. His hand rested on a cardboard box filled with pictures, dusty videotapes, books, and old clothes – all their parents' things that they had left.

"Yeah," Blaine replied. "Everything important."

They got in the car and drove over to a cheap motel on the outskirts of Lima. Cooper was able to pay for a week in advance. Beyond that, though, he was worried. They didn't have any more cash, and his job at Pizza Hut would be over by then.

* * *

Blaine made no mention of any of this at school. Sam and his family had gone through something similar last year, but Blaine was still embarrassed to admit his and Cooper's troubles. More importantly, _West Side Story_'s opening night was fast approaching, and Blaine didn't want to add any of his problems on top of those of the already over-stressed cast.

Blaine got free tickets for Cooper to see the show each night. He spent the night after Friday's show at Kurt's house – Burt and Carole were in Washington, and Finn was spending the night at Rachel's.

The two boys were nervous as they changed into pajamas before curling up together to watch a movie together on Kurt's couch. The movie was forgotten less than a half hour in, and by the time it ended, both Blaine and Kurt were wearing far fewer clothes than before. They clumsily made their way up to Kurt's bedroom and collapsed on his bed. Blaine's hands hovered in the air an inch over Kurt's waistband.

"Do you want to?" he asked hesitantly.

"God, _yes_, Blaine," Kurt said, voice shaking slightly.

Before either boy could speak another word, they were kissing passionately, shedding more layers of clothing in the process.

Blaine woke the next morning to the sweet smell of waffles wafting upstairs. He rolled out of Kurt's bed, slipped on his boxers and sleep pants, and walked down to the kitchen. Kurt was standing in front of the waffle maker, wearing an apron, and looking absolutely delicious.

"Hey," Blaine said quietly, wrapping his arms around Kurt's waist and kissing the other boy's cheek.

"Hey yourself. Sleep well?" Kurt asked.

"Amazingly. This smells fantastic, Kurt. I haven't had a homemade breakfast in ages," Blaine said without thinking.

"What are you talking about?" Kurt asked, picking up on Blaine's slip. "I thought Cooper made you guys gourmet breakfasts every morning."

"Oh, well, he – uh – he used to, but he's been working really late and, uh, hasn't been awake in time to make me breakfast," Blaine lied.

"Oh," Kurt said, looking mostly convinced. "Well, then I am more than happy to treat you to breakfast a la Kurt Hummel."

* * *

Finn returned home a few hours later looking just about as blissed out and triumphant as Blaine felt.

"I should probably call Coop for a ride now," Blaine said, taking Finn's entrance as his cue to leave.

"Don't bother," Kurt said. "I need to pick up a few things at the mall. I'll drive you back to your apartment."

"Really, Kurt, Cooper doesn't mind," Blaine said quickly.

"Blaine, I'm going to be a block from your house. It'd be really idiotic to _not _drive together. Come on."

Blaine gave in and spent the whole ride trying to formulate a plan for how to throw Kurt off and keep him from figuring out that he and Cooper had been evicted. Thankfully, he had nothing to worry about. Kurt leaned across the center console to kiss Blaine goodbye. Blaine waved to Kurt from the door and stood in the lobby until the older boy drove off. Then he picked up his phone to call Cooper for a ride back to the motel.

Their week at the motel was up. Cooper had enough money to pay for a few more nights, but then they wouldn't have had anything for food. Instead, they decided to find another option.

Blaine repacked the car while Cooper called a few buddies of his from high school. None of them had any extra space, however.

"I guess it's the car then," Cooper said sadly.

"What?" Blaine asked, eyes going wide.

"Unless you want to see if Kurt or one of your other friends will take you in, Blaine, we've got no other choice but to stay in the car."

"O-okay," Blaine answered, voice trembling.

The two brothers embraced tightly, taking comfort in the warmth of the other's arms.

Cooper got in the driver's seat and Blaine took his position next to his big brother as they drove to an empty parking lot for the night.


	4. Chapter 4

**a/n: I don't know how many times I can say this without it sounding trite, but thank you so much to every reader. This is literally the greatest and most enthusiastic response any story of mine has ever received!**

**On another note, I'm going out of town tomorrow and won't have internet for four-ish days, so here's a chapter to tide you over.**

* * *

Blaine woke the next morning with a crick in his neck and an ache in his back. He could hear Cooper shuffling around next to him.

"Ugh," Cooper groaned. "I feel like I was just run over by a truck or something."

"I know," Blaine griped back. "My back feels like I spent all of yesterday hauling bricks."

"You have no room to talk, kid," Cooper said. "You're still young. You can bounce back from this stuff easy."

"And you're old? Coop, you're only nine years older than me!"

"Weren't you just telling me how ancient I was the other day?"

Blaine glared at Cooper, but his expression broke when Cooper's stomach growled loudly.

"Crap," Cooper muttered. "We have got to figure this out, B. I swear, this is _not _going to become a regular thing. I am going to find another job and fix this."

"I know, Coop," Blaine replied, tone subdued. "I trust you."

"We're going to need to ration food for the next couple of weeks just in case. Which means that breakfast might not be happening for a while."

"I get free lunch at school, so that should lighten the load, right?" Blaine asked.

"Yeah, Squirt. Although, that slop doesn't really count as food. Maybe I should see if you need a new cook at McKinley. Unless that would embarrass you?"

"Of course not, Coop. Anyway, I feel like this is all kinda my fault. I mean, you'd be out in Columbus or maybe even some big city being the big-time chef if you didn't have to come back here to take care of me. And then all those hospital bills really screwed us up..."

"Blaine, don't you _dare _blame yourself for _any_ of this. Unfortunately, neither of us have any sort of control over this situation. It sucks, but that's what it is."

"Coop... I love you," Blaine said after a pause.

"Love you too, Squirt. Now come on. We need to hit the pavement."

* * *

Blaine spent all day Sunday in the Lima Public Library finishing his homework while Cooper tried every business in town to see if they were hiring. No one seemed to want to hire him, though – they either weren't hiring at all or only wanted to hire kids that they could take advantage of. They all assumed that Cooper was too well-versed in the business world to agree to work awful hours for minimum wage. Little did they know that Cooper would take absolutely anything.

When he picked Blaine up at the library at closing, he had a bulging plastic grocery bag and a defeated look on his face.

"Hope you don't mind PB&J," Cooper said, "because that's all we're going to be eating for a while."

Blaine hugged his brother, quickly picking up on his mood. "I love you, Coop," he said again.

"I'm so sorry that I can't take better care of you, squirt," Cooper whispered quietly enough that Blaine couldn't quite make out each individual word.

* * *

When Blaine woke up the next morning, he became acutely aware of how uncomfortable, cold, and dirty he was. He hadn't showered since Friday at the Hummel-Hudson's. He looked at his watch and realized that it was only six am, but he decided that he might as well get up.

"Coop," he whispered, shaking his brother's arm. "Coop, I'm going to walk to school and use the showers there."

Cooper, ever the deep sleeper, mumbled incoherently and rolled over as much as he could.

Rolling his eyes at his brother, but deciding that Cooper really deserved to sleep longer, Blaine pulled a piece of paper from one of his school notebooks and wrote a note to Cooper.

_Coop -_

_I'm heading to school now. I really need to shower, so it's best that I get there early so no one asks why I'm showering at school. I'll probably go to Kurt's after school. Call me to tell me where to meet you later. Good luck with the job hunt!_

_Love, Blaine_

He stuck it in the steering wheel so Cooper wouldn't be able to miss it, and awkwardly stumbled out of the car, making sure to bring all his school books and a change of clothes.

* * *

School was tense now that most of the girls from New Directions had defected to Shelby's all-girls group. Adding to that tension was Rachel's announcement of her presidential campaign as well. Blaine was firmly on Kurt's side, and was probably even more incensed than his boyfriend was at Rachel's betrayal.

Kurt was spending hours after school each day working on his campaign, and Blaine played the part of the dutiful boyfriend, always at his side. It also provided the perfect excuse to only go to Kurt's house any more. Blaine knew that as soon as the election was over, Kurt would start to notice that something was off about Blaine, but he was thankful for the time that he had now.

Things were getting more and more difficult for Blaine and Cooper. They had now been living in their car for two weeks. Cooper had been entirely unsuccessful in his attempts to find more than daily temporary labor. Even that had only come through on two occasions. They had barely any money left and were running out of food. Even more troubling, as November progressed, the temperature kept dropping.

Right before sectionals, Blaine was met with a bit of encouragement. Sam returned to McKinley. Despite his family's homelessness last year (which had never quite reached the point that Blaine and Cooper were at now but had still been troubling), his father had managed to get a new job and they now had a nice enough house to their name.

Blaine told Cooper about it as soon as he heard the story from Sam.

"We can't, Blaine," Cooper said.

"What do you mean? Sam's dad got a job! Everything worked out for them!"

"Sam's dad had more … marketable skills. Plus, we'd have to move. And I don't want you switching schools again or leaving all your friends and Kurt behind. I don't want to leave mom and dad behind either."

Blaine sobered up. He had always known in the back of his head that life wasn't a fairy tale, but he had hoped that he and Cooper might find some luck eventually.

"I don't want to leave them either," Blaine finally said. "But I've still got you. Coop, I love you and I trust you. You need to think about yourself for once, though."

Cooper dismissed the issue. "I promised mom I would take care of you, Blainers. I fully intend to do that by keeping you by your friends. I'll find something here."

* * *

With Sam's help, the New Directions beat the Troubletones at sectionals. The girls rejoined the glee club, and everything seemed to fall back in place at school. If only Blaine's life outside of school hadn't been falling apart.

Since Kurt lost the election, Blaine knew that his time was running out. They kept going to the Hummel-Hudson house until Kurt started asking if they could swing by Blaine's place more often. Blaine hated lying to Kurt, but he knew it had to be done.

"I don't know if I can do anything today," Blaine said one day about a week after sectionals.

"What? Why?"

"I think I'm coming down with something," Blaine said. It wasn't a lie, he was beginning to feel a little sick – but he was sure that was due to a lack of sleep. He never slept more than a few hours a night in the frigid, uncomfortable car. Plus, he had been coughing since before sectionals. He really didn't want to get Kurt ill.

"Do you want me to come over and make you soup or something?" Kurt asked.

"No, I don't want to get you sick, too," Blaine said. "Plus, Cooper'll probably make me something. He always gets really protective whenever I get sick."

"I guess I'm glad that he's there for you," Kurt said, but Blaine could tell how disappointed he was.

* * *

That night, Blaine and Cooper made their first trip to the Lima homeless shelter. They were both tired of the long, cold nights in the car, and they had almost no money or food left. Blaine slept better than he could remember sleeping in the last months in the uncomfortable cot they provided him with.

They spent Saturday morning in the laundromat, trying to stuff all their clothes into one washer to conserve money. After a small lunch – a splurge to the two brothers – consisting of grocery store soup, they wandered around Lima for a while before heading back to the homeless shelter.

"Hopefully there will be open beds again tonight," Cooper said. "I was talking to the woman who runs it, and she sounded really apologetic, but she said that if it gets too full, we probably won't get beds since we're young men."

Blaine nodded in understanding. He shivered as he pulled his coat tighter around his thinning frame and followed his brother into the room.

They proceeded through the line and accepted the food. It wasn't much good – especially to a gourmet chef and his little brother – but it was warm, solid, and more than they had eaten in ages. They took their plates to a back table and ate ravenously in silence until Cooper almost choked on his potatoes.

"Coop, you okay?" Blaine asked, panicking immediately.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Cooper said, coughing and swallowing down gulps of water from his glass. "Uh, Blaine... aren't those two kids in your glee club?"

Blaine's eyes widened and he looked up. Sure enough, Quinn and Sam had just walked in and started serving food. He nodded numbly.

"Alright, B, it's going to be fine. Just turn around and cover your face so they can't see you. We'll get out of here through the back door. Don't worry," Cooper repeated soothingly.

"I'm sorry, Coop," Blaine whimpered. "I'm not ashamed of you or this or anything – really, I'm not. I just – don't want people to know. But we don't have to leave. I know that the beds here are more comfortable than the car."

"Naw, we probably wouldn't have gotten beds tonight anyway," Cooper said, infusing his voice with false cheer. "Look at all these people."

Blaine had to agree that their chances for comfort looked slim. So he and Cooper took the first chance they had to sneak out while Quinn and Sam were otherwise occupied. He and Cooper crawled into the backseat of the station wagon and spent the night tangled in the other's arms and under a pile of blankets.


	5. Chapter 5

Blaine's cough hadn't gone away in the past two weeks – in fact, it had grown worse if anything. He was feeling more lethargic each day, but continued to attribute his symptoms to his lack of rest.

He was unpleasantly shocked when Mr. Schuester announced that Sam and Quinn had come up with a prime performance opportunity for them – singing and serving food at the Lima Homeless Shelter. But Blaine knew that it would draw more unwanted attention to himself if he objected, so he prepared with his friends.

When they walked through the doors the Friday night of their performance, the woman who ran the shelter gave Blaine a strange knowing look. He prayed that she wouldn't mention anything, and she seemed to understand when he sent her a desperate glance.

Blaine ended up being the last to leave the shelter, waiting for Cooper to come pick him up. The woman walked over to him with a bulging paper bag.

"Here," she said kindly. "It's some extra food from tonight, for you and your brother. I hope you two boys have been keeping warm."

Blaine nodded wordlessly at her, and could feel tears spring to his eyes as she walked away.

When Cooper arrived, Blaine ran out to the car holding the bag of food tight to his chest.

"What's that?" Cooper asked suspiciously.

"Food. The lady who runs the place recognized me and gave me some leftovers before I came out."

"Wow," Cooper said. "That's sweet of her."

Blaine nodded, but he was already digging through the bag. He had to stop his desperate search about halfway through when he was seized by a coughing fit.

"Whoa, B, are you okay?" Cooper asked, moving the bag of food from Blaine's lap and rubbing his back.

"Yeah," Blaine gasped. "I think I'm just coming down with a cold or something. It's no big deal."

"I don't know, B, maybe we should see if there's a bed in there for you..."

"No! I'm not leaving you alone! Plus, the place was fit to burst while I was there and no one looked like they were planning on leaving."

"I just don't want you to get sick, kid."

"I'm _fine_, Coop. Just hungry, okay?"

Cooper conceded, but made sure to watch Blaine a bit more closely from then on.

* * *

As winter break drew nearer, Blaine got worse. He never made any mention of it, but Cooper could feel him shivering during the night and knew that Blaine barely slept at all anymore. Blaine was eating less, too, his appetite almost completely gone. Cooper was desperate to do something to help his brother, but the two boys combined only had about $20 to their name.

While Blaine was at school on the last day before break, Cooper ran to a pharmacy and bought a cheap bottle of cough syrup. He knew it wasn't much, but he needed to do something. When he picked Blaine up from Kurt's house that evening, the boy was nearly delirious.

"He fell asleep almost right away," Kurt told Cooper. "He woke up once or twice, but I don't think he really knew what was going on. I tried to get him to eat something, but he kept saying he wasn't hungry. I really hope you have better luck."

Cooper thanked Kurt for his help and led Blaine back to the car. More than anything did he want to leave his little brother at the Hummel-Hudson house where he was sure to be welcomed into the warm and loving space. But he knew that Blaine would never stand for that. But Cooper promised that if things got worse, he would ask someone for help.

When Blaine woke up the next morning, he was shivering violently. Cooper was holding him tightly, whispering soothing words into his hair. Blaine finally calmed down enough to drink a bit of the cough medicine, but he wouldn't eat anything. The boys drove to the laundromat for their bimonthly laundry day, and Blaine ended up puking the contents of his stomach on the ground outside.

Cooper ushered Blaine into the bathroom to clean up while he tried to clean the mess in the parking lot and on the side of their car. When he went back inside, Blaine was sitting on the ground, back to a warm dryer, eyes closed and breathing deeply. He opened his eyes lazily when Cooper approached.

"How're you feeling?" Cooper asked.

"Better," Blaine slurred. "Know how puking always makes you feel better when you're sick? I think I'm better, Coop."

"Sure you are, kid," Cooper said. "I'll believe that when you can talk clearly and keep your eyes open for more than a few seconds."

"M'fine, Coop. Just a little thirsty."

Cooper smiled. At least Blaine was trying to put something in his stomach. He splurged at the vending machine and got Blaine a coke and a bag of pretzels to eat. "Eat up," he ordered.

Blaine slowly munched his way through the snack. By the time Cooper was switching the laundry, a bit of Blaine's color had returned. He was still coughing and shivering, but he seemed to be getting better.

After two days, Blaine regressed again. He and Cooper were huddled in the back seat of the station wagon when Blaine's body suddenly went limp. His eyes rolled back and he fell back onto Cooper.

"Blaine?" Cooper asked loudly, tapping his brother's cheeks. "Blaine! Can you hear me? Come on, squirt! Wake up!"

But Blaine didn't wake up. Cooper felt a very weak pulse in Blaine's neck and sighed in relief. Blaine's body was still shivering violently, so Cooper wrapped him up in every coat and blanket they had. He then got into the front seat and began to drive.

Halfway to the hospital, Cooper realized that he had about $9 in his pocket – and that was everything. No one would treat Blaine for free, at least no one that was nearby. He knew of a free clinic, but that was two hours away in Cincinnati. They didn't have the time to drive there. Cooper pulled over to the side of the road, about to break down in frustration.

Suddenly, an idea occurred to him. Kurt's stepmother worked at the hospital. She might be able to help Blaine. At the very least, they would probably let Blaine stay with them for a few days. And they hopefully wouldn't call child services either, like the hospital would be required to do.

With a new burst of energy, Cooper turned the car around and sped to Kurt's house.

It was late when he arrived – after 11 pm. There was a light on upstairs, but it didn't look like many people were awake. But Cooper didn't care about disturbing the Hummel-Hudsons. He just wanted to help his little brother.

He pulled Blaine's thin frame from the bundle of blankets in the backseat and ran to the door, pressing down on the doorbell and knocking wildly.

* * *

Burt was the first one to hear the doorbell. Finn had been playing video games and couldn't hear anything, and Kurt was on the phone with Mercedes. He rolled over in bed, muttering angrily about people calling so late at night.

A frantic pounding started on the door as Burt made his way downstairs. Carole followed close behind him, also wondering what was going on.

"Stay behind me," Burt whispered gruffly as he approached the door.

When he swung it open, however, he was greeted by an entirely unexpected sight.

Cooper Anderson, looking tired, worn down, and dirty, stood panting on the doorstep, holding a trembling bundle tightly. Upon closer inspection, Burt recognized the shock of dark, curly hair and realized that Cooper was holding Blaine. Carole gasped in recognition.

"C-can we c-c-come in?" Cooper asked through chattering teeth.

"Of course," Carole said, taking action.

Burt closed the door behind Cooper and followed them into the living room.

"What happened?" Carole asked quietly.

"He's been sick lately," Cooper began, pulling a blanket from the couch and placing it around Blaine's shoulders, the young boy still curled in his arms. "I – tonight, he was really bad and then he passed out, but I don't have money for the hospital or anything, and the free clinic in Cincinnati is too far away and I was just so worried! But then I remembered that you're a nurse, and maybe you can help?"

"Of course, dear," Carole said in her most soothing tone. "Just try to warm him up right now, and I'll go get a few things. Burt, why don't you make some tea for the boys, okay?"

She followed Burt to the kitchen and spoke to him for a few moments before rushing upstairs.

Burt went back to the living room with two mugs of tea to find Cooper was rocking Blaine slowly and whispering, "I'm so sorry, B. I'm sorry I couldn't take better care of you, baby brother."

"Cooper?" Burt said, not wanting to intrude on the moment, but forcing himself to talk with the man like he and Carole had agreed.

"Y-yes?" Cooper asked, looking up nervously.

"Want to tell me what's been going on with you two?"

"What do you mean, sir?"

"Well, for starters, you can tell me why you boys look like you haven't eaten a real meal in months and smell like you haven't showered in a few days."

Cooper cast his eyes down, embarrassed. "I – we've been living out of my car for a while," he whispered.

"What? How long?"

"Since the end of September," Cooper muttered.

Burt sucked in a deep breath. The two boys had been living on the streets for three months now. "Why didn't you ask us for help? Or someone else? Blaine must have known that Kurt would invite him in in a heartbeat."

"We didn't want to inconvenience anyone."

Carole came bustling back into the room and took Blaine's temperature. She tutted at the thermometer when she pulled it out and began checking his pulse and blood pressure.

"Let's move this to the kitchen, alright?" Burt said to Cooper.

Cooper looked like he wanted to object, like he needed to keep holding his brother in his arms, but he gave in after a reassuring glance from Carole.

"Cooper, I understand that this is tough, but I really need to know everything."

"I lost my job. Back in August. I drove for Pizza Hut for a while, but they only needed me on a short-term basis. No one else is hiring here. Blaine and I were evicted at the beginning of September and we had enough cash to stay in a hotel for about a week. But then we ran out of money, so we've been staying in the car since then. We've managed to get beds at the shelter a few times, but they're usually full and young men are the first people they turn away."

"Cooper, you know that you could have come to me at any time and I would have given you a job, no questions asked," Burt said sincerely.

"I appreciate that, sir, but I didn't want to put a burden on you. I know that you have a lot on your plate with Congress and the shop."

"That's exactly why you should've come to me! I can always use a few more hands to ease my burden a bit."

Cooper didn't look convinced. "I don't think Blaine wanted his friends to know," he revealed. Remembering his brother seemed to break a dam in Cooper, because suddenly he was crying over the forgotten mug of tea. "I just feel like such a failure. When our mom died, I moved back here from Columbus. I promised our mom I would take care of him, but I haven't been able to protect Blaine once. He was nearly killed at his old school, and now all I've done is drag him down into homelessness. I though I was doing the right thing back then, taking guardianship of him, but maybe I should've just put him in foster care. At least he'd be warm and healthy right now."

"Don't you dare say those things, Cooper," Burt said sternly. "I may not know you well, but I know that you love your brother and you have done a damn good job taking care of him. I know I wouldn't have been able to raise a teenager when I was 22, but you did it and raised a great kid. You've sacrificed a lot for Blaine and done everything you could to make sure he was happy. There is no way you are at fault for this."

Cooper's tears had stopped falling by the end of Burt's speech, but he still looked upset. "I just feel like I've failed _him_."

* * *

**a/n: sorry about the wait. On the bright side, I finished the story while I was without internet, so I'll be posting daily until it's complete. It's 10 chapters long, so we're halfway there. Hope you all enjoyed this, and thanks again for all the love that this story has been getting!**


	6. Chapter 6

Burt and Cooper went back to the living room after their conversation. They found Carole hovering around a much calmer looking Blaine.

"He woke up briefly a few minutes ago. I don't think he understood where he was, but I told him you were right here, and that seemed to calm him down," she told Cooper. "He fell asleep right after."

"Is he okay?" Cooper asked.

"It sounds like he's got pneumonia. We'll have to take him to the hospital in the morning for x-rays, but he should be okay in about a week."

Cooper's face fell. "I can't afford that," he said quietly.

Burt placed a strong and comforting hand on Cooper's shoulder. "We've got this, son. You've done more than enough for Blaine, but now you need to let someone else help out."

Cooper nodded numbly, all the fight gone from him as he stared at his little brother's emaciated frame. "Thank you," he whispered.

"You can go on upstairs and take our bed," Carole said soothingly. "Burt and I can sleep on the pull out couch tonight."

"No, I couldn't -" Cooper began.

"I insist," Carole cut him off.

Cooper sighed and smiled timidly for the first time in ages. "Thanks," he repeated.

He gingerly picked up Blaine and carried the limp body up the stairs. Burt dug out old sweats for the boys to change into and gave them toothbrushes to borrow. After changing himself and Blaine, Cooper crawled into bed and curled his arms around Blaine.

* * *

When Blaine woke up the next morning, something felt off. He could still feel Cooper's arms around himself, but he also felt – warm. That was it. It was such a foreign feeling to wake up to. He couldn't quite figure out why, though – he didn't remember going to the shelter last night. Last thing he remembered, he and Coop were huddled in the back of the car.

As he was seized by another coughing fit, he opened his eyes to take in his surroundings. Blaine didn't see the seats of Cooper's car as he had expected. Instead he saw cream colored walls and soft navy sheets. He saw a mahogany dresser and bedside table. On the table was a picture of Kurt, Finn, Burt, and Carole at the wedding last year. Confused, Blaine rolled over to ask Cooper what was going on.

Cooper was already awake, having woken up to Blaine's coughs about an hour earlier. He had heard movement in the rest of the house, but didn't want to leave his brother alone for one second.

"Hey," he whispered when Blaine turned to him.

"What's going on?" Blaine asked, statement punctuated by coughs.

* * *

A very similar conversation was taking place downstairs. Kurt and Finn had trudged down for breakfast about twenty minutes earlier and were confused when they found their parents asleep on the pull out couch.

"Mom? Burt?" Finn asked loudly.

The adults slowly woke up, startled when they discovered their sons next to their heads. It took each of them a moment to recall the events of the previous night.

"What's going on?" Kurt asked. "Why are you down here?"

"Yeah, and who's in your room if you're here?" Finn added.

"No talking until we have coffee," Burt grunted.

Kurt quickly brewed a heavenly smelling pot of coffee while Carole began warming up bowls of leftover oatmeal – _six_ bowls of oatmeal.

"Uh, Carole, I know you're tired," Kurt said, "but there are only four of us."

"These are for our – _guests –_ upstairs," Carole said. "I'll bring them up in a few minutes to see if they're awake."

"Guests?" Finn and Kurt asked at the same time.

"You boys better sit down," Burt said. "Eat while Carole's up there. Then we'll explain everything."

* * *

Carole knocked lightly on the bedroom door before opening it a crack to peek inside. She saw Cooper talking quietly to Blaine, presumably explaining everything that had happened last night.

"Are you boys hungry?" Carole asked. "I've got some oatmeal for you. I can also bring you juice or coffee if you'd like."

"Please," Cooper said. Blaine just smiled weakly. He still looked pretty awful, but one night had done wonders for him.

She went back to the kitchen to pour two more mugs of coffee and also grabbed the medicine she had been giving Blaine. After helping the Anderson brothers, she returned to the dining room to talk with her own family.

Both Kurt and Finn were staring at their parents expectantly, bowls of oatmeal lying forgotten on the wooden table.

"What's going on?" Kurt demanded as soon as Carole took her seat next to Burt.

"Boys, last night, Cooper and Blaine came by," Carole began.

"What -" Kurt said, immediately concerned.

"Kurt, please, wait until we've finished talking," Burt said, cutting his son off.

"I don't know if you'd noticed anything in the past months, but Cooper said they had been living out of his car since September. Blaine got sick a few weeks back. Without enough food or a warm place to sleep, it just kept getting worse. Cooper didn't have enough money to bring Blaine to the hospital, so when it got really bad last night, he brought him here."

Burt picked up the story here. "They're going to be staying here for a while, however long it takes them to get back on their feet. But I don't want you boys doing anything to make them feel uncomfortable about anything that's happened, alright?"

Kurt and Finn both looked stunned and horrified. Finally, Kurt spoke in a small, timid voice. "Blaine – is he okay?"

Carole and Burt exchanged a look. "He will be. I'm going to take him to the hospital later today, and if it's just pneumonia, as I suspect, he'll start improving within a week. But they are both severely malnourished, so that will take some time to reverse."

"Can I see him?"

* * *

Blaine's head was reeling from everything that Cooper had just explained to him. He still felt incredibly cold and weak, but he had to admit that it was better than before. He'd even managed to force down a few mouthfuls of oatmeal before his stomach protested.

"I'm going to take these plates downstairs, Squirt, but I'll be right back up, okay?" Cooper said.

A look of fear had crossed Blaine's face at the idea of separation from his brother, but he nodded anyway. It wasn't like he didn't know where he was. But something felt different about the Hummel-Hudson home now that they knew his secret.

"Just lay down and relax, squirt," Cooper whispered, kissing Blaine on the temple as he grabbed the dishes and pushed open the door.

He timidly walked down the stairs and towards the kitchen. He could hear voices coming from the dining room, all of which ceased when he came into sight. He tried to smile weakly at the family that was gathered at the table.

"Where should I put these?" he asked, holding up the bowls.

"Oh, I'll take those," Carole said, bustling around and taking them from Cooper. She frowned slightly when she saw Blaine's nearly untouched bowl.

"Blaine hasn't had much of an appetite," he explained apologetically.

"Of course," she said. "You boys can take your time showering and cleaning up in our bathroom, but we should head over to the hospital soon, alright?"

Cooper nodded. "I'll wake Blaine up again when I'm done." He tried to ignore the stares from the other occupants of the house as he walked back upstairs.

* * *

Blaine was, as expected, sleeping when Cooper returned to the room. He walked over to the bathroom and found that Burt must have gone out to his car at some point because their bag of clean laundry was sitting on the floor next to clean towels and washcloths.

He took a quick shower and felt clean – _actually _clean – for the first time in weeks. Blaine was still asleep when he returned to the bedroom, but he knew that he had to wake him up and get him clean.

Blaine managed to shower by himself and came out from the bathroom a half an hour later looking better than Cooper could remember him looking since they'd started living in the station wagon.

"Want to go down?" Cooper asked.

Blaine nodded.

Cooper had to support him as they descended the stairs. Blaine had paled a few shades already and he was beginning to look sick again. As soon as they reached the landing, Cooper held Blaine's shoulders.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.

"M'fine, Coop," he whispered, spurring another fit of coughs.

At the sound of Blaine's coughs, four heads all poked around the corner from the kitchen. Cooper rubbed Blaine's back, trying to calm him down. When he had stopped coughing, Carole stood in front of him with a glass of water.

"Here honey, sit down and drink this," she instructed.

Blaine nodded weakly and followed her instructions. When he looked up next, Cooper, Carole, Burt, Kurt, and Finn were crowded around him. He gasped in surprise and began coughing again. The fit died quickly, and soon Cooper was right next to him, holding him tightly.

"Hi baby," Kurt said quietly.

Blaine tried his hardest to smile at Kurt since he knew he would cry if he tried to speak.

"How're you feeling?"

Blaine shrugged.

"Would you mind if I went with Cooper and Carole and you to the hospital?"

Blaine shook his head violently, hand reaching out to grasp Kurt's in his. Upon contact, a sigh dropped from his lips and a real smile graced his face.

Kurt took a seat on Blaine's other side and hugged Blaine tightly. "I'm glad you're okay," he whispered into his hair."


	7. Chapter 7

**a/n: I'm pretty sure the last scene in this chapter is my favorite so far. Let me know what you guys think!**

* * *

The ride to the hospital was short, but the wait was long and painful. While Carole and Cooper begged the nurses to let them in sooner rather than later, Blaine fell asleep in Kurt's arms.

When they were finally called up, only Cooper was allowed into the exam room with Blaine, so Carole and Kurt waited anxiously in the hard plastic chairs.

Cooper came back a while later, reporting that Blaine was being taken down to x-ray, but his results should be back soon.

As expected, Blaine was malnourished – which was the reason for his fatigue and dizziness. The doctor suggested that they start him on several vitamin supplements and health supplement drinks as soon as he returned home. He also had rather severe pneumonia. The doctor wanted to keep him at the hospital for at least two days, and then they would reevaluate. With the right drugs and care, Blaine would start feeling better within a week, and the pneumonia would be totally cleared up in three.

Then they were let into his room. He was sleeping, as expected, and hooked up to all sorts of machines.

"We have him on a saline drip IV as well as a feeding tube to make sure he gets nourished. He appetite will probably return in a few days. There's also oxygen here in case he has trouble breathing. A nurse will be in to check on him in a while," the doctor explained before leaving the room.

Carole called Burt and Finn to update them on Blaine while Cooper and Kurt each took vigil at Blaine's sides. It wasn't until Cooper himself nearly keeled over from exhaustion and hunger that Carole remembered that he, too, had been homeless for the past three months.

She immediately set to bustling around, feeding him vitamins she'd purchased in the pharmacy and high-calorie cafeteria food. Then she made him lay down on the couch and sleep.

Kurt and Carole were kicked out of the room at the end of visiting hours. Since Blaine was still a minor and Cooper was his legal guardian, he was allowed to stay the night. When the nurse left the room, Cooper crawled into Blaine's bed and curled up beside him. Blaine shifted so Cooper had more space and put his arms around his brother, happy to be providing warmth for once.

* * *

Carole, Kurt, Burt, and Finn were greeted by that sight the next morning when they came to visit. Kurt once again stayed the entire day at the hospital with a much more coherent and rested Blaine. Despite Kurt's positive influence on Blaine, however, Cooper never left his brother's side.

Blaine was discharged after two days at the hospital. As the Hummel-Hudsons drove Blaine and Cooper back to the house, all of them seemed to be grinning at some shared joke. It became apparent as soon as they stepped over the threshold.

In the middle of the living room was a large, decorated Christmas tree.

"Is it Christmas already?" Blaine asked.

"Tomorrow," Kurt answered with a squeeze to Blaine's hand.

"I am so sorry that we're crashing your Christmas," Blaine said quickly. "We can get out of here right away."

Cooper nodded along with Blaine, but everyone else looked at the brothers in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Carole asked. "We love having you boys stay here. We _want _you here, especially for Christmas. Christmas is a time for family. You have to spend it with us."

Kurt shot Carole a grateful smile before looking back at his boyfriend. "Just be selfish for once in your life, Blaine Anderson," he whispered into Blaine's hair.

Blaine grinned back.

"Now, we're still shuffling things around still, but Kurt said he'd sleep in Finn's room so Blaine, you can sleep in Kurt's room – sorry boys, but you two aren't sleeping together. I may be nice, but I'm not _that_ nice." Kurt and Blaine chuckled. "Cooper, we can set up a mattress in the office for you if you want a room of your own -"

"No, Coop can stay with me!" Blaine interjected. He had gotten so used to Cooper's comforting presence that he was unwilling to let him go.

"O-okay," Burt said, a little surprised by Blaine's outburst. "I guess that simplifies things. We'll still clear out the office for a room for you two later. I think Kurt would disown us all if we forced him to stay with Finn long-term. But the hospital gave us very specific instructions regarding your healing process, Blaine."

"We can stay on the pull out couch," Blaine said. "I really don't want to kick Kurt out of his own room."

"Oh my god, Blaine, shut up," Kurt said. "Remember what I told you not two minutes ago?"

Blaine blushed. "Thank you all," he muttered, earning an approving nod from Kurt.

Blaine was ushered up to Kurt's bed and explicitly told that he was not to get up unless he was about to wet his pants. While Kurt fussed over Blaine, Cooper and Burt went out to Cooper's car. While Cooper pulled boxes and bags from inside the car, Burt inspected the engine. He let out a low whistle when he lifted the hood.

"That bad?" Cooper asked.

"I don't know how you two weren't killed in this death trap years ago," Burt said.

"I guess you can train me for your shop by working on this then," Cooper suggested.

"I don't know if it's salvageable," Burt said.

Cooper fell silent for a moment. "I used to be my dad's car," he said in a low voice.

Burt looked at him sympathetically. "We'll have to try our hardest then."

Burt, Cooper, and Finn brought the bags into Kurt's room. Kurt tried not to think too hard about how this was everything Blaine owned.

"Need any help unpacking?" Kurt offered.

"I think we should wait until we move into your office," Cooper said. "But could we maybe borrow your washing machine?"

"Oh, of course! I'll take you right there," Kurt said, and he pulled Cooper off towards the laundry room.

Once Blaine was alone in Kurt's room, he scrambled out of bed – ignoring everyone's warnings – and began digging through the boxes. When he finally found the box he was looking for he heard a throat clearing in the doorway. He looked up and saw Kurt staring disapprovingly at him from the doorway.

"Uh...sorry," he said. He picked up a videotape a showed it to Kurt. "Do you have a VHS player?"

"In the basement," Kurt said, narrowing his eyes. "Why?"

"Coop and I watch this every Christmas. It's the recording of our last Christmas with both our parents," he explained.

Kurt's expression immediately softened. "Oh! I'll have Finn set it up in the living room for you guys."

Blaine smiled. "Thanks, Kurt."

Kurt walked over to Blaine and helped tuck him in the bed. When Blaine was settled, Kurt curled up next to him. _When did this happen_? he wondered, _We tell each other everything. Or, at least, we _used _to. I gave him my everything – hell, I gave him my virginity! When did I ever give him the impression that he couldn't tell me this?_

"Blaine?" Kurt asked quietly.

"Hm?"

"Why didn't you tell me when you and Cooper moved out?"

"Oh. Um, well we were so busy with _West Side Story _and then you had the election. I was embarrassed, I guess. But I really just didn't want to be taken away from Coop."

"What do you mean?"

"When my mom died, Cooper was only 22. The social worker assigned to my case didn't think Cooper would be an 'appropriate' guardian for a 13-year-old boy. They wanted to put me in the system because Cooper was young and had no job and had only _just _graduated from college. But he fought for me, and since he was my only family, they had to let him take over legal guardianship. But if even the slightest thing happened, I knew they would try to take me away. They tried back in sophomore year when I got beat up at my old school."

"Blaine, you know that we would never do anything to separate you and Cooper. I know how much your relationship with him means to you."

"But if any people know, it's dangerous. What if Mr. Schuester found out? He's a teacher, he's required by law to report this sort of thing to the authorities. If he didn't tell and people found out that he had known, he could be in a ton of trouble. It was just safer this way."

"I just wish I had noticed something these last few months. I mean, I could tell that something was off, but I just didn't want to rock the boat. Everything was so great."

"It's not your fault, Kurt. You and Cooper helped me so much."

"I love you, Blaine Anderson. So, so much," Kurt said, leaning down towards Blaine.

"I love you too, Kurt," Blaine gasped before he met Kurt's lips in a deep kiss.

* * *

Blaine was relocated to the living room couch where everyone crowded around him to eat dinner. Afterwards, the Hummel-Hudsons went to the kitchen to clean up and Cooper put the videotape into the VCR.

A familiar scene began to play.

_A chubby six year old with a shock of dark curly hair goes charging toward a pile of colorful presents under a heavily decorated tree. His fifteen year old brother follows after. He is trying to act cool, but his excitement about Christmas is shining through._

"_Don't let Blaine start opening presents until your dad and I get there!" a woman's voice calls from the next room._

"_But daddy _is _here," Blaine calls back. "I wanna know what Santa brought me!"_

_Cooper grabs Blaine around his midsection as he tries to make a dash toward the tree. "Nice try, Blainey," he says, "but you're not getting anywhere near that tree until mom comes back."_

"_Cooooop," Blaine whines, trying to fight his way out of Cooper's arms. "Daddy, help me!" he calls when he realizes that Cooper is much too strong for him._

_The man behind the camera laughs. "Sorry, Squirt, but Cooper's right. You have to wait for your mom."_

"_Fine," Blaine pouts, going limp in his brother's arms. _

_Cooper begins bouncing Blaine around in his arms until laughter bubbles out of the little boy again._

"_You know," Cooper begins, looking right at the camera man, sharing a secret signal of sorts, "I think that you've been a bad boy this morning. And you know what happens to bad boys, don't you, Blainey?"_

_Blaine's eyes widen in fear as Cooper plops him down on the couch._

_Cooper grins widely. "The tickle monsters attack!" he shouts._

_The camera starts moving erratically for a few moments before it goes completely still. The cameraman has set it down on a table so he can join his sons._

_Blaine is already shrilly laughing and shrieking when a tall man with his same thick, dark hair comes running toward the couch._

"_No, daddy! Please, don't tickle me," he laughs out. His little legs are kicking out as his father and brother tickle him. Despite his pleas, there is a wide smile on his face and pure joy in his eyes._

"_Dan! Cooper! I've told you guys that tickling gets Blaine too excited," a woman's voice calls. Seconds later, her legs come in view as she walks over and pulls Blaine out of the pile on the couch._

"_Mommy!" he squeals, forgetting his plight from a few moments before. "Can we open presents now?"_

_Marie and Dan Anderson both laugh at their youngest son's antics._

"_Of course, Blainey. You can even choose the first present," Marie responds._

_Blaine jumps down from the couch and runs over to the tree. He searches for a few moments before grabbing a messily wrapped box and handing it to Cooper._

"_For me?" Cooper asks, clearly surprised that Blaine didn't choose a gift that he could unwrap himself._

_Blaine nods. "I even wrapped it myself," he says proudly._

_Cooper looks touched as he unwraps the box. From within, he produces a leather necklace with a messy metal bead on it. _

"_I made it myself when we went on a field trip last month," Blaine brags._

"_It's great, Blaine," Cooper says, slipping it over his head, "I love it."_

_The family continues opening presents, Blaine squealing over Disney movies and a football and Cooper looking thrilled as he opens up a box with a new leather jacket._

_When all the presents are open, Blaine looks up from his place on the floor where he has built a fort of all his new toys. "I love you, mommy and daddy," he says happily._

_Marie swoops down and picks up her youngest son, enveloping him in a warm embrace. Soon Cooper and Dan join in as well._

"_Merry Christmas," Cooper says, voice slightly muffled._

_The video plays static a moment before going black._

Blaine and Cooper were silently crying by the time the movie finished. Cooper had one arm around Blaine's shoulders while the other was fingering a leather band around his neck.

"Merry Christmas, Squirt," Cooper whispered, using their father's nickname for Blaine.


	8. Chapter 8

Kurt, Finn, Carole, and Burt had stayed in the kitchen while Blaine and Cooper watched their old family movie, knowing that this was a moment that needed to be shared by the two brothers only. They couldn't help but overhear delighted squeals occasionally coming from the TV screen. Kurt felt a deep sadness at this. Blaine had been so young when Dan Anderson had died. And then to lose his mother six years later... and almost lost his brother at the same time as well? Kurt couldn't understand how Blaine had managed to be the upbeat boy he had grown to love.

* * *

On Christmas morning, the entire house was awake and ready by 10. Both Blaine (from his nest of blankets on the couch) and Cooper looked slightly awkward, as if they were intruding on a family moment, no matter how many times someone told them otherwise.

"It's really nice of you to take us in, Burt," Cooper said from a quiet corner of the kitchen, "but Christmas is supposed to be about family. I know this is only your second Christmas as a family and the last before Kurt and Finn graduate. We both would understand if you didn't want us around."

"Cooper, I don't know how many times we have to tell you that you boys are more than welcome here."

"But Blaine and I don't even have any gifts for you," Cooper argued.

That hurt Burt's heart in a way not unlike a heart attack. These two boys had lost absolutely everything except each other and a few memories, and they were worried about other. He was once again reminded why he had so passionately approved of Kurt's choice of a first boyfriend.

Cooper continued to speak in Burt's silence. "Christmas is usually just the two of us anyway. Even when mom was around, it's been pretty subdued since our dad died."

"Well, you're about to experience a real Hummel-Hudson Christmas. Hold on to your hats!"

* * *

Kurt couldn't help but be a little jealous of Cooper. He wanted so desperately to be the one holding Blaine in his arms on Christmas morning. But considering everything that the brothers had gone through together, especially these last few months, it made sense that they needed to be reminded that they still had each other.

All in all, Christmas had been a roaring success. There had been a tense moment when Carole had passed a gift on to Cooper, and no one had missed the tears in his eyes when he opened the box to find some new cooking equipment.

"I know it's probably not as high quality as you're used to," Carole explained, "but the woman at the store swore by it. She assured me that it was better than some of the flashy, expensive stuff."

"Thank you. So much," Cooper had whispered. He surprised everyone by reaching over the side of the couch and embracing Carole lightly.

Kurt was a little hurt at how surprised Blaine looked when he gave him his gift. Hadn't Blaine expected his own boyfriend to give him a gift?

"But, I've already gotten a gift from you," he said slowly, indicating the purple cashmere sweater that he had donned upon unwrapping.

"That was from my family," Kurt explained. "All of us. This one is just from me."

Blaine opened the box with trembling hands. Inside, he found a delicate bracelet with an odd red beaded pattern. There was a card underneath, which Blaine read.

Apparently, Kurt had made a recording of himself saying, "I love you, Blaine," and sent it to a company which then made the bracelet so that the sound wave pattern matched Kurt's words. Blaine's mouth fell open in awe at the gift.

"Wow, Kurt, thank you," he whispered.

Kurt simply leaned over and pecked Blaine on the lips.

* * *

Blaine went upstairs to take a nap before Christmas dinner. Kurt was about to start helping Carole in the kitchen when he heard Blaine's soft call.

"Kurt?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"Will you help me upstairs?"

Kurt looked around and saw that Cooper, Burt, and Finn were all in the living room still. The fact that Blaine had asked for Kurt's help over Cooper was incredibly heartwarming. Of course, it could have been that all the men were entranced by a football game on the tv screen.

Once they were in Kurt's room, however, it became obvious that Blaine had specifically requested Kurt for a reason.

He dug through his backpack for a few moments before producing a small box. "Here," he said shyly, holding it out to Kurt. "I wanted to get you the real thing, but then everything happened. So I've been working on that for you for a while now."

Kurt opened the box to find a small paper band with an impossibly tiny bow tie on top. "Is this...?" he trailed off.

"It's a promise ring," Blaine explained. "I made it out of gum wrappers. Juicy Fruit."

"And that's a little bow tie?" Kurt asked, eyes misting over and a delicate smile gracing his lips. "What are you promising, Blaine?"

"To always love you. To defend you even if I know you're wrong. To surprise you. To always pick up your call no matter what I'm doing. To bake you cookies at least twice a year and to kiss you whenever and where ever you want. Mostly to make sure that you always remember how perfectly imperfect you are. I know it's not much -"

"I love it," Kurt interrupts. "I love _you_."

"Merry Christmas, Kurt," Blaine said, leaning up to capture Kurt's lips in a slow kiss. "I'm glad we got to spend our first Christmas as a couple together."

"First of many," Kurt added.

"I love you too," Blaine whispered.

Kurt kissed his temple. "I know. Now get some sleep."

* * *

Burt started training Cooper to start at the shop when it reopened after break by fixing up Cooper's station wagon. He hadn't been lying when he'd called it a death trap, but he knew how important holding on to a piece of someone you lost was, exacerbated only by overhearing the video that the Anderson brothers watched every Christmas eve.

Finn, and occasionally Kurt, hung around too, revealing the inner workings and politics of the shop. Burt was glad that his sons were being so helpful and nonjudgemental. Cooper's unease was apparent, and he only seemed to lose confidence as it became obvious that he knew close to nothing about cars.

"Really, Burt, it's nice for you to offer me a job, but I'd probably hurt the cars more than help. I can try to find work elsewhere."

"Stop doubting yourself, Cooper. You're picking this up really fast. And if you don't feel confident enough to work on a car, you can always do paperwork in the office. God knows I hate doing that and I'd love to have someone to pass that on to."

Cooper's eyes brightened at the mention of work that he could actually contribute with. "That sounds great, Sir."

* * *

Both Blaine and Cooper were eating more and slowly gaining back the weight that'd lost in their three months of homelessness. At first only Carole and Kurt really ever entered the kitchen. But as Blaine gained his strength back, Cooper asked Carole if he could help out.

"Honey, you don't need to feel like you have to do anything around here," Carole said kindly.

Cooper flushed. "No, actually, um, I just haven't been able to cook or anything in a while and I really miss it."

"Oh, of course! I can't believe we didn't think of that!" Carole said. "What do you want to make? We can run to the grocery store to get anything you need."

Cooper began opening cabinets and looking around. "Um, well, would you mind terribly if I made a chicken tikka masala?"

"Mmm, that sounds fantastic, Cooper. I'm sure we don't have most of the ingredients you need here, so let's get going."

Cooper had a really fantastic time shopping with Carole and bonding over cooking. Soon the Hummel-Hudson house was filled with an enticing scent. Both Finn and Burt stuck their heads in the kitchen on multiple occasions to see if they could get a taste of the dinner. Carole shooed them away good-naturedly while Cooper snuck them each a small bowl of the sauce.

* * *

Kurt and Blaine were holed upstairs in Kurt's bedroom. Both were working on the homework they had been assigned over break half-heartedly.

"I really did want to tell you," Blaine finally revealed quietly.

"Hm?" Kurt asked, looking up from his calculus book.

"About me and Coop. You were so good with Sam and his family last year, so I didn't _actually _think you'd hate me or anything, but I was still scared about everyone knowing."

Kurt crawled over the bed to comfort Blaine. "I get it, Blaine. I'm glad you trust me. And no one else has to know if you don't want them to."

Blaine nodded. "Thanks."

* * *

Rachel hosted a party for New Year's Eve – this time without alcohol, especially since her dads were there for it. Blaine was invited and desperately wanted to show up for at least part of it, but Carole, Kurt, and Cooper ganged up on him.

He ended up in his nest of blankets on the couch between Burt and Cooper, watching Dick Clark's New Years Rocking Eve instead.

Burt looked at Blaine with a bit of a grin on his face.

"I get it, kid."

"Huh?"

"Last year, when I had my heart attack, Kurt was intent on keeping me in the house – preferably in one place – for as long as possible. But it comes from a place of caring, even if it is a little infuriating."

Blaine giggled, glad that Burt at least was on his side.

Carole and Cooper were in the kitchen, trading cooking secrets and working on a german sweet chocolate cake for dessert, one of Blaine's favorite dishes. Blaine loved how easily he and his brother – his family – had melded into the Hummel-Hudson family. He didn't want to jinx anything, but the promise ring which Kurt had worn almost constantly since Christmas meant a lot more to Blaine than he had said.

Kurt came bursting through the front door at ten minutes to midnight to find everyone except Cooper asleep in the living room. Cooper held up a silent finger to his lips, then beckoned Kurt over.

"Thank God you're here," he whispered. "I've had to pee for the last hour, but I didn't want to disturb sleeping beauty here. Can you slide in here so I can get out?"

Kurt laughed at the position Blaine had pinned Cooper in, but agreed and took the seat.

Cooper walked up and watched the scene from the doorway. He hadn't needed to use the bathroom, but he knew how much Kurt wanted Blaine to fall asleep on him. He smiled as Kurt lovingly petted over Blaine's curls and hummed softly.

Blaine stirred slightly just before midnight.

"Whazzanon?" he asked blearily.

"Shh," Kurt said, petting his curls. "Go back to sleep, baby."

Blaine shifted in Kurt's lap. "Love you, Kurt," he muttered.

"I love you too, Blaine. Happy New Year." Kurt leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Blaine's temple just as the clock struck midnight.


	9. Chapter 9

**a/n: so this was supposed to be the last chapter, but it got crazy long, so I cut it off - and now it's really short. Oh well, I guess I can't have it all. Plus, ending a story at 10 chapters is a nice and even number :) I hope you all enjoy this, and the final chapter should be posted tomorrow!**

* * *

School resumed for Kurt and Finn only a few days later. Blaine was itching to be allowed out of the house, but Carole and Cooper teamed up and threatened to tie him down on Kurt's bed for at least three more days. On Monday, if Carole determined that he was well, he would be allowed to reenter McKinley's halls.

Burt was back in Washington and Cooper was starting his first day at Hummel Tires and Lube, but Carole, who had rearranged her schedule at the hospital without letting Blaine know, was home with him. After a week of bed rest, he was finally allowed to walk around the house without receiving dirty glares from everyone around him.

He and Carole spent the morning planning out how he and Cooper would reorganize the office and turn it into a room for them. She wouldn't let him attempt to move furniture or boxes yet, but he was glad that he wouldn't be forcing Kurt out of his own room for much longer.

* * *

In the car on the way to school, Kurt made sure that Finn knew not to reveal to anyone that Blaine and Cooper were staying with them, nor to invite anyone over to their house.

At lunchtime, Tina sat next to Kurt.

"Where's Blaine? He hasn't been in any of our classes this morning."

"He got pneumonia over break and he's still recovering. He said he'll hopefully be back on Monday."

"Aw, poor thing. That must really suck, being sick and not able to enjoy break," Tina said. "Can he have visitors?"

"I don't think so. Cooper doesn't want anyone to accidentally bring a bug that could make him worse. Plus, we don't want the entire glee club getting sick." Kurt was quite proud of his excuse.

"Oh, okay. Well, maybe I'll call him tonight. Are you going to bring him his homework?"

"Of course," Kurt said.

* * *

Rachel was angling to head over to the Hummel-Hudson house after school, hoping to get quality NYADA prep time with Kurt and parent-free time with Finn.

"Well, we're not going to get to _do _anything at my place," Finn pointed out. "Kurt's going to be right there. Why can't we go to your place?"

"Because, if we go to my place, then I won't be able to prep for the audition with Kurt," Rachel said, sighing as if it were obvious.

"Rehearse for me," Finn said. "I love hearing you sing."

Those were the magic words to convince Rachel to do anything – compliment her, stroke her ego, and you can get anything.

* * *

Kurt came home from school and told Blaine all about how everyone had missed him in glee – even Rachel had missed him, talking about how she had found a duet that would compliment their unique voices and ranges perfectly. He passed Blaine's homework on from Tina too, and helped him through it.

* * *

The rest of the week passed in much the same way. On Saturday, Carole and Kurt took Blaine back to the hospital to have a checkup. The doctor proclaimed that he was well enough to return to school, but he should still be careful and stay away from vigorous activity.

"I guess you can't dance in glee," Kurt said sadly.

"Yeah, but at least I can get out of the house," Blaine said happily. A look of fear crossed his face and he hastily added, "I mean, it's not that I don't appreciate that you're letting me and Cooper stay, of course I do. I've just been getting a little stir-crazy is all."

"Blaine," Kurt said, grabbing his arm and kissing him to shut him up. "I know how much you appreciate staying at our house, you don't have to keep telling me every five minutes. Anyone would be going insane if they had been cooped up inside for over two weeks."

"Thanks, Kurt," Blaine said. "I'm just really excited to go back to school." He let out a short laugh. "God, I never thought I'd be saying that."

Kurt laughed too. "Don't worry, you'll be singing a different tune soon enough."

* * *

Blaine got an enthusiastic welcome back from all the New Directions, who made sure not to cough anywhere near him or do anything that might get Kurt angry. Blaine laughed and clapped along as they danced to one of the new numbers they had been preparing the week before, but wished that he could jump right in.

Kurt pulled him up at one point and began to gently dance with him. Santana rolled her eyes at the lovesick boys, but they both knew that it was out of affection rather than actual scorn.

* * *

Blaine found himself watching Sam more closely over the next few days. Sam had been staying with Brittany and Rory since moving back to Lima without his family, and Blaine could see a deep-seated sadness under his smile.

About a week after Blaine returned to school, he approached Sam after glee practice.

"Sam, can I talk to you?" he asked timidly. Despite being in the same grade and glee club, Blaine had barely talked to Sam in the past year.

"Uh, sure. What's up?" Sam looked confused, and Blaine was suddenly seized with an urge to run away. Not that he had that option anymore since he had opened his mouth.

"About, uh, what happened – to you and your family last year?" Blaine said, intoning as if he was asking more than telling.

"Oh," Sam said, looking down.

"I was just wondering how you – how you, I don't know, _managed_ I guess? I don't really know what I'm trying to say."

"Are you okay, Blaine?" Sam asked, really looking at Blaine.

Blaine opened and closed his mouth a few times. "I – uh – no. I mean, now I am. But before – I wasn't."

Sam seemed to understand at least part of what Blaine was saying. "Do you want to tell me what's going on?"

Blaine wanted more than anything to say no and find Kurt, but instead he nodded his head.

"Let's find somewhere a bit quieter," Sam suggested, leading Blaine to an abandoned science classroom.

"So," Sam said, trying to feign a casual attitude.

"My brother lost his job," Blaine blurted before he could stop himself. "In August."

Sam nodded, urging Blaine to continue silently. Blaine took another deep breath and began talking.

* * *

Kurt was wandering around the school trying to find Blaine. He and Mercedes got in a long conversation after rehearsal, and Blaine must have slipped away. But he wasn't waiting for Kurt at the car, nor was he in the choir room. As soon as Kurt realized that, he enlisted Finn's help to find Blaine.

He started his search in the dumpsters, praying to anyone who would listen that Blaine wasn't in there. He wasn't, but he didn't seem to be anywhere else.

And then Kurt heard the noise. It was a muffled sob, followed by a low voice speaking quickly and reassuringly. Unsure of what he was going to find, he opened the closest classroom door to find Blaine sobbing into Sam's arms. Immediately, Kurt understood what had happened. Blaine had sought comfort in the one person who could understand his situation most.

"Don't worry," Sam said soothingly. He caught Kurt's eye and conveyed that Blaine was okay before continuing to speak. "I know it doesn't seem like it, but things will get better. And you've got Kurt helping you, so that can only mean good things. He was a lifesaver to me last year."

Blaine nodded and hiccoughed, pulling away slightly. "I feel so helpless, though," he whispered.

"Why don't we go back to Kurt's house so we can talk in private, okay?" Sam suggested while looking to Kurt for confirmation.

"A-are you sure?" Blaine asked.

Kurt took that as his cue to step forward. "Of course, baby. Now let's get going, Finn is probably freaking out about both of us right now."

Blaine smiled faintly and tried to clean off his face before taking Kurt's hand. Sam swung his arm over Blaine's other shoulder and met Kurt's eyes over the curly head.

"Thank you," Kurt mouthed.

* * *

After that day, Sam and Blaine were much closer. Kurt watched the two of them interact from down the hallway and laughed, wondering how they had never formed a friendship before now, considering how similar they were. Blaine didn't like to admit it, but he was a huge geek. He usually hid it around Kurt and instead talked about Vogue and clothes, or football if Burt and Finn were around, but when he was with Sam, Blaine joined him in imitations of their favorite _Star Wars_ characters or spoke in elvish and geeked out over pictures from the _Hobbit _movie that was due to be released in a year.


	10. Chapter 10

**And here it is, chapter 10, the final chapter of ****_In Your Arms_****. It moves pretty quickly at the end, just tying things together. I also included another note at the end that explains some stuff I alluded to but never explained. **

**I want to thank every single person who has read any small part of this from the bottom of my heart. It is thanks to all of ****you**** that I was motivated to finish this so quickly, and it is also thanks to all of you that this has become my most popular story here! I don't know what I did to deserve that, but thanks!**

**I love all of you! I can't say thanks enough!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Mercedes was not having a good day. She was supposed to meet Kurt at the mall that morning, but had to cancel last night because her parents had planned to spend the entire day doing family bonding activities. Then they woke her up this morning and told her that they'd been invited to a friend's for lunch so family bonding was rescheduled. She had tried Kurt, but he wasn't answering his phone. And now her car was breaking down right in the middle of Lima. At least she was near Mr. Hummel's shop.

"Hello! Mr. Hummel? Kurt? Finn?" Mercedes called, walking into the unusually empty garage. There was a rustling of movement and a lone figure emerged from the back office. It was, however, not someone she expected to see.

"Cooper?" she asked.

He looked like a deep caught in the headlights. "Uh, Mercedes, right?"

She nodded. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm – um – I'm helping out Burt. I figured I should get to know Kurt's family, seeing as how Blaine's so attached to him, and I decided to lend a hand here."

"I thought you cooked?"

"I can do more than just cook," he said slightly uncomfortably. "Anyway, Finn's going to be in soon if you wanted to talk to him? Otherwise, I can look over your car."

"Sure," Mercedes said. "It almost broke down a block back, but I was able to get it here."

Cooper lifted the hood and looked around for a few minutes. "This shouldn't take too long, Mercedes. Want to come back in a couple of hours to pick it up?"

Mercedes agreed and left to go wander through the few shops in Lima's downtown.

* * *

In glee club on Monday, Mercedes brought up Cooper with Blaine.

"Your bother's weird," she said in a joking tone.

"What?" Blaine asked.

"He wants to bond with your boyfriend's family, so he works in their tire shop?"

All color drained from Blaine's face.

Mercedes was confused, and even more so when Sam jumped into the conversation. "Hey, I think it's awesome that Cooper wants to get to know Kurt's family."

"Of course it's awesome," Mercedes said, backtracking slightly. "It's just a little weird that his 'bonding' consists of working in their tire shop _alone_. Anyway, how does he have enough time to work there? I thought you always said he was so busy at the restaurant."

Blaine was panicking, Sam looked torn, and Kurt looked livid. "Leave it alone, Mercedes," Kurt said, venom dripping from his every word.

"But -"

"Leave it!"

"No," Blaine said, voice quiet and shaky, but firm. "It's okay. They're my friends, they can know."

Most of the glee club had only begun to listen when Kurt had butted in, so they were confused, but Finn looked worried.

"Dude," he said, "you don't have to."

"I know. I want to," Blaine said, squeezing Kurt's hand. "Remember last year – how Sam's dad lost his job and then their family lost their house and they had to live in the motel?"

There were a few heads nodding around the room.

"Well, Cooper lost his job over the summer, and then we were evicted from our apartment. But because of all my hospital bills last year, we didn't have any savings and we ended up in his car."

Blaine knew that more than one person was looking at him with an expression of pure pity, but he didn't look up from his and Kurt's linked hands. "We did that for a while, occasionally stopping at the homeless shelter, but then I got sick. I don't remember what happened, but Coop says I passed out and we didn't have any money for the hospital but he remembered that Carole's a nurse. So he brought me over to Kurt and Finn's house. We've been staying there since the beginning of break."

The room was silent for a few beats.

"I'm so sorry, Blaine, I had no idea," Mercedes finally whispered.

"It's okay. I didn't want anyone to find out. I mean, we're living at Kurt's house now, but child services could still find Cooper to be an unfit guardian. So the fewer people that know, the better," he explained.

"Are you okay?" Tina asked.

"Yeah, the doctors okayed me, and more importantly, even Kurt let me out of the house."

"But I mean, like … you were _really _homeless. Like, worse than Sam's family was – no offense, Sam, that still sucked for you – and you could have _died_, Blaine," Tina said.

Blaine shrugged. "But I didn't. And I had Cooper. We've learned that as long as we have each other, we're good, as sappy as that sounds."

* * *

Time passed, and Blaine was thankful that the glee club was treating him no different than they had before. Of course, they had always been a little wary of making fun of him, but that was so as to avoid Kurt's wrath.

When the news somehow spread throughout school that Blaine had been living in a car for a few months, he endured some of the worst teasing since his old high school. However, the glee club rallied around him in support and he was able to ignore most of the jibes directed at him.

Right before regionals, Sugar came to school with a very smug look on her face.

"My daddy's opening a new restaurant in Lima, and we want your brother to be the head chef," she told Blaine in front of the entire glee club.

"That's – uh – very nice, Sugar, but Coop and I – we don't want handouts," Blaine said politely, a slight blush creeping up his cheeks.

"It's not a handout. I told daddy that my friend's brother used to be the chef at Breadstix, and then he asked if it was before or after they got crappy and I said before, and so he wants to talk to your brother to see if he'll accept the job," Sugar explained.

"Really?" Blaine asked, face lighting up. "Oh my god, that's amazing! I have to tell Coop!"

When Blaine ran from the room to call Cooper, Kurt walked over to Sugar.

"Thank you, Sugar. I know we don't really know each other well, but I'm glad you're looking out for Blaine too."

"Of course. Plus, my family's rich, and even though I've never been poor, I'm sure it sucks. So I'm trying to help Blaine."

Kurt laughed.

"Anyway, daddy's _going _to hire Cooper regardless because I told him to. It just helps that he's actually good."

* * *

Two months later, Mr. Motta's restaurant opened to a private crowd of New Directions members and their families. Blaine had gotten a job as a waiter there, and didn't feel one twinge of embarrassment as he brought heaping platefuls of food his brother had concocted out to his friends.

"Oh my god, Blaine, tell your brother that his food is amazing," Mercedes gushed.

"Of course. Although I don't think we really need to add to his ego," Blaine joked, winking at his friend.

* * *

By the end of the summer, with the help of Burt, Carole, and the Mottas, Blaine and Cooper had moved into their own apartment again. It was even smaller than the last one, but it was closer to McKinley and the restaurant.

Blaine had already finished his college applications – NYU, NYADA, Julliard, Ohio State – as well as several scholarship applications. Obviously he was partial to New York so he could go live with Kurt again as soon as possible, but Blaine knew that those schools were expensive and he wouldn't be able to go unless he got really good scholarships. Thankfully he had padded his resume with good grades, class presidency, a job at the Motta's restaurant, volunteer work, and participation in almost every club offered at McKinley. Blaine was confident in his chances.

* * *

One Friday night, while Cooper was at work, Blaine was putting the finishing touches on one of his essays when he looked down at his watch and saw that he was very nearly late. He practically sprinted the six blocks to the Lima Homeless Shelter, and arrived in the parking lot just as Sam was pulling in.

"Ready?" Sam asked.

"Ready," Blaine replied.

The two boys walked inside, greeting the owner warmly, before taking their positions behind the pots of food and beginning to serve.

* * *

**ENDNOTES: In case you were wondering, Blaine's father died in a fire seven months after Christmas – Blaine was just 7 and Cooper was almost 16. Dan was a firefighter and he died a hero's death, having rescued a young child from the building moments before running back in the unsafe and unsound structure to try to rescue more people. The roof caved in and landed on him. It broke his back, paralyzing him, and he inhaled a lot of smoke. His partner managed to run into the building and pull him out, but it was too late. He was in a coma for two days and passed away on the third.**

**Blaine's mother died from breast cancer while Blaine was in the 7th grade (he was 13), and Cooper had just graduated from culinary school (22). She had been diagnosed only a few months earlier, but was already at an advanced stage. Blaine had told his mother that he thought he might be gay a week before she died, and she loved him just the same.**

**The chemo and other medical bills had been great, which is why there was very little money left to Cooper and Blaine, even once their childhood home in Westerville had been sold. Neither parent had worked a particularly lucrative job – Marie was a high school teacher and Dan, of course, was a firefighter – so money had always been tight. Their grandparents were all dead by the time Marie died, which is why Blaine's options were to either enter the foster care system or have Cooper become his legal guardian. Men and women who had worked with Dan at the station and Marie at the school had all rallied around Blaine and Cooper in support of Cooper's abilities as a guardian and helped to sway the social worker to give Cooper guardianship rights over Blaine.**

**Blaine and Cooper had always been close as children, despite the nine year age difference. Both boys were surprises – Marie and Dan had been newlyweds not planning on starting a family quite yet when Cooper was born, and Marie had been told after Cooper's birth that she most likely wouldn't be able to get pregnant again due to complications from the difficult pregnancy and birth. Blaine was born early which is why he was a little short for his age. Cooper had cared for his brother when his father was on duty at the firehouse and after Dan died, so Cooper had always been a cross between father and brother to Blaine. They'd shared many interests in their youth, including sports (which both loved, but were terrible at), and singing and dancing. Cooper had considered getting a degree in theatre, but instead chose to follow his other passion, culinary arts. He went to a community college for two years before the two year culinary school.**

**whew, that was long.**

**hope you all liked this! I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but thank you all again for all the hits, reviews, favorites, and follows!**


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